Thursday, October 29, 2015

In the mid-1800s, Spirit Photography became the rage. Mediums and Spiritists employed a method of double exposing negatives (a process unknown to the public since photography was still a rather new medium) in order to convince people that they were being contacted and visited by the spirits of loved ones. It is easy to see that many people believed in this (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a huge believer) but it's also easy to see that some indulged in this practice with their tongue in their cheek. And some photos, as you can see, were absolutely staged, no doubt as a kind of "business card" for the medium and photographer.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

I am absolutely entranced by the darkly beautiful music of 'fō (Josh Cooke). His debut release comes out in a few weeks, on November 10, 2015. Take a listen to these songs from his eponymously titled album and marvel at not only his smooth voice but at the mysterious, chilling music itself. At first, all seems innocent but soon the familiar guitar sound gives way to skittering strings, and a mournful, lamenting bass. A folksy sense morphs into deeper, more somber layers of meaning.

The official video for "North" contains enigmatic images that perfectly support the eerie disquiet.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

The work of Thierry Feuz looks like photographs of botanical studies or images of microscopic slides from pond water with little protozoa and plant life wriggling around. But these images are imbued with a kaleidoscopic sense with fluorescent and neon colors!

Top to bottom: Amazona; Caprice; Meteor; Over The Rainbow; Psycho-Tropical; Thierry Feuz with his work

About Me

About "Oh, By The Way"

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

I am dedicated to posting the positive, the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. Sometimes I post cultural as well as personal observations, milestones, and remembrances. And just like life, all of these things may often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.

Some of the photos, art, poetry, and prose are my own original work, credited with my initials, JEF. When it isn't, I always try to post links to the original source material, but often I find photos on the web that are not linked or other material that is not sourced. In these instances, I post them without malice since it is assumed that such things, by being globally posted on something as uncontrollable as the internet to begin with, are in the public domain. If you identify the source of an image that is not linked, please politely let me know (without accusing me of theft) and I will be happy to provide a link.

I hope to inspire and entertain my readers with things that inspire and entertain ME. There is a startling amount of beauty and creativity in the world and it enriches us all to participate in it.

All-time Favorite Films

2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)

After Hours (Hysterical, hair-raising ride through NYC at night)

Amelie

American Beauty (Alan Ball)

Baraka (Stunning, transcending—the "spiritus mundi" on film)

Belle et Bete (Cocteau)

Big Sleep, The (The epitome of film noir)

Bringing Up Baby (Hepburn & Grant—the epitome of screwball comedy)

Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, The (Greenaway)

Crash (Cronenberg—DIFFICULT subject, not for everyone)

Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg—ultimate modern gothic horror)

Drowning By Numbers (Greenaway)

Easy Rider

Edward II (Derek Jarman)

Erendira (From magic realist Marquez’ brilliant short story)

Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick's last film)

Fearless (Jeff Bridges—life and death)

Funny Bones (Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, and the brilliant Lee Evans)

Holiday (Hepburn & Grant)

Howard’s End (The ultimate statement of the unfairness of class systems)